And what proved quite cool for those familiar with our scene was first (and/or early) tastes of several upstart outfits — and at least a first look at a couple more that aren't legal to pour yet, but will be quite soon.

Some of those flavors were quite spectacular — a super strong showing right out of the gate — including a Mokaya Chocolate Blonde made as a collaborative beer between Lofty Brewing Company, Fossil Brewing Company and Radiantly Raw, as well as a Gold Hill Java Pale Ale — constructed as an offshoot of that same brewery collaboration, working with local coffee.

I could go on ... but instead, here's a brief photo tour of the event, including some of those faces, and many more:

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Matthew Schniper

Visit tiny.cc/celgfx to read our April 16 Side Dish write-up on Axe and the Oak Distillery, aiming to be ready for market by early fall.

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Matthew Schniper

Lines leading to local samples of craft goodies.

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Matthew Schniper

Fieldhouse Brewing Company should open doors around mid-to-late May. See tiny.cc/wllgfx for more.